My husband and I went to France for breakfast today with these Croque Madame sandwiches, and it's all thanks to Melissa over at Bklynlocavore and The Secret Recipe Club for assigning me to Melissa's fabulous blog for the month of March! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and we never even left our own kitchen.

When I spied Melissa's recipe for Brooklyn Locavore's Croque Madame, I knew immediately that this would be the only choice for me to make as I've wanted to make a Croque Madame for quite some time, but I've never seemed to have gotten around to it. Until today, that is!

What the heck was I waiting for??? This sandwich is INCREDIBLE! Naturally, I added my own twist to the recipe I found on Melissa's site to make it my own, but the theme is the same. Luscious layers of ham and Swiss cheese sit atop a crunchy slice of fried peasant bread that has been spread with a slightly tangy layer of Dijon mustard sauce. Top that with some lightly sauteed asparagus spears, and a deliciously runny, over-easy egg. Be still my heart!

Trust me when I tell you, this is a breakfast sandwich that dreams are made of! We'll get to France some day but until then, this will do just fine :)

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
-In a large skillet over medium/low heat toast the bread on both sides in a little melted butter (your call on how much butter). Remove the bread to a baking sheet.
-In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and Dijon. Spread the mustard/mayo equally among the toasted bread.
-Layer the ham and Swiss cheese evenly on each slice of bread.
-Place the bread, ham and Swiss in the preheated oven until the cheese is slightly melted (about 5 minutes).
-Meanwhile in the large skillet, saute the asparagus spears in a little butter over medium heat for approximately 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Layer the asparagus spears evenly on top of the ham and melted Swiss.
-Add a little more butter to the skillet and cook the eggs to your preferred doneness, seasoning with salt and pepper.
-Gently place the cooked egg on top of the asparagus and serve hot.

*Note - Please be aware that this recipe is written to make 4 sandwiches, but I made 8 as you'll notice in the photos. Four were made with over-easy eggs and 4 were made with over-hard eggs.

Are you interested in seeing all the other delicious Secret Recipe Club member's recipes? Of course you are! Click on the links below to feast your eyes, and plan your upcoming cooking and baking schedule accordingly. The members of the #SRC have totally got you covered :)